Gazette MVP: Lauren Decker's competitive spirit propelled Wadsworth to state semifinals

For a volleyball player, Lauren Decker is a pretty darn good basketball player. A three-time Gazette MVP who helped the Wadsworth volleyball team reach the Division II state semifinals as a junior and the regional finals as a senior, the 5-foot-9 Decker will continue her career in that sport at Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania. Had basketball been her top priority, however, Grizzlies coach Andrew Booth is firmly convinced Decker would have gotten a D-I college scholarship in that sport. The numbers and accomplishments certainly back that up. A small forward, Decker led Wadsworth in scoring (15.1), steals (4.1), field goal percentage (.492) and 3-point percentage (.367, 22-60), ranked second in rebounds (6.0) and assists (2.7) and shot .683 at the line while attempting twice as many free throws (116) as her nearest teammate. She also helped the Grizzlies win the highly competitive Suburban League National Conference and reach the D-I state semifinals. For her efforts, Decker was named first-team All-Ohio, SL National Conference Player of the Year and Northeast Inland District D-I co-Player of the Year. The extremely athletic 18-year-old can now add Gazette MVP in girls basketball to that list, as she became a three-time All-Gazette pick in a sport she doesn't spend a ton of time working on between high school seasons. "Let's put it this way," Booth said. "If the roles were flipped and she was a basketball-first kid and volleyball second, she would be playing at some level of Division I (in college). That's how talented she is. There's no doubt about it. "The biggest thing, for sure, is her competitive nature. It doesn't matter what we're doing, whether it's team 'Jeopardy' in the hotel room before the Classic in the Country, running sprints in practice or a game of one-on-one in eighth grade, she wants to compete. It didn't take me long to figure out that the more competitive drills we could do, the more she got into it. It got to the point where we really had to stack the teams against her in practice. If we didn't, her team would just dominate." Friendly and outgoing but also extremely humble, Decker was genuinely surprised to hear Booth's comments about her ability to be a D-I college basketball player. "That's really sweet of him to say," she said. "I mean, maybe, if I worked at it like I do volleyball, there could be a possibility. "I don't think I have that many skills, honestly. I definitely don't have a bag of skills. It's minimal. I either shoot it or drive it and that's about it." Decker's teammates, who much preferred playing with her in games than against her in practice, beg to differ. "She meant everything to our team," senior center Marah Minor said. "Without her, we wouldn't have had as successful a season as we had. She's a competitor, and it doesn't matter what it is. She hates losing more than she loves to win. "She can play every position," Minor added. "She can pass the ball, dribble the ball, shoot the ball and play defense. She's a great teammate and she lifts up everyone. She's a great leader." Asked how good Decker would have been had basketball been her No. 1 priority, Minor said, "She's already so good, I would imagine if she genuinely wanted to get better, she'd be among the top three players in the state. If she put in the same amount of work (as she did with volleyball), it would be unreal. She'd be a contender for Ms. Basketball." Truth be told, there was a time when Decker didn't think she was going to play basketball as a senior. When her junior season of hoops ended, she was so mentally and physically drained she thought it might be best if she just concentrated on volleyball in her final year of high school. "Honestly, after my junior year ended, I was just really worn out," she said. "I was done and ready for it to be over." After a few months passed, Decker began reconsidering. In part because Booth always had been very understanding when it came to her club volleyball schedule and responsibilities, she ultimately decided to play basketball as a senior. Once she did, Decker made it her primary commitment in-season and also attended the Grizzlies' summer practice period. She also continued to play with her Junior Olympic volleyball team, the Nova Juniors, during the high school basketball season. "I am so glad that I played," she said. "Our whole coaching staff is great and all the girls are great. We all got along so well. We all came together, got out of our shells and got comfortable with each other. We were with each other every day for two hours and we all enjoyed it. "It was my last year and I just wanted to have a good season, have fun with all my teammates and make a good tournament run. We did that." The Grizzlies did that because identical twins Natalie and Julia Maddox blossomed, Natalie Moser made a successful transition to point guard, Minor developed into a quality 3-point shooter and numerous others provided depth off the bench, but most of all they did it because Decker was the team leader every step of the way. "Her personality is very similar to my personality," Booth said. "We both love to win and hate to lose. She's just a great kid. We became close because of all the cooperation we had to do between basketball and volleyball. She doesn't want to disappoint anybody or let anybody down. That's just the type of kid she is." About the only thing Booth and Decker disagree on is how much time she put into basketball. He says she worked hard to become a better 3-point shooter; she says it was simply a matter of making a few early in the season and attempting more. "I think I just got more confident with it," Decker said. "I never really shot until this year." In part, that's because she really didn't have to. A very good leaper with a 72-inch wingspan, Decker is able to twist her body in numerous ways, which allows her to drive, draw contact, make the shot and get to the line for a free throw. Defensively, Decker's long arms and great instincts for jumping into passing lanes make her an absolute terror for a Wadsworth program that prides itself on playing extremely hard all over the floor. "She's been that way since before junior high," Booth said. "She is so long and rangy, on top of her athleticism. She gets her hand on so many balls, and that's going to be the hardest thing to replace. Her ability to read passes is so good. I've never had a kid like that. I don't care who we played, she was the best defensive player out there every time we took the floor." Her organized basketball days likely over, Decker finished her career with 1,099 points despite missing half her sophomore season with a hip injury. It's not what she accomplished that she will remember, however, but who she did it with. "(Booth) is like a second dad to me," Decker said. "I remember him from when I was very little. He's always been there. We just are really close. We both are very competitive people, but he's also so funny. He's just got that sarcastic humor. I have it, too, so we joke around a lot with each other. "It was incredible," she added of Wadsworth reaching the state semifinals for the first time since 2018. "We were sitting on the court stretching in Dayton and we were all talking about it. It was great to play in such a big arena with a chance at a state championship. Even though it didn't end in our favor (with a 53-43 semifinal loss to Cincinnati Princeton), it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com.